CORMIER ON BISPING’S VICTORY: “IT WAS THE ACTIVITY OF BISPING THAT GAVE HIM THE EDGE.”
Cruz on Bisping: “There’s no quitting in Bisping. He’s so annoyingly stubborn, but he just keeps going and going.”
Los Angeles – The following quotes and videos are from tonight’s UFC 204 POSTFIGHT SHOW on FS2 hosted by Karyn Bryant, with Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz providing analysis. Megan Oliviconducted interviews.
FOX UFC analyst Daniel Cormier on Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson: “It was what we thought. Mike was moving around and Dan was looking to counter. He set traps. He countered the jab. And it landed on a couple of times. As the fight went on, Henderson didn’t have the power like he did at the beginning. Bisping threw a lot of high left kicks. You saw Henderson start to slow down, and took the fourth round off trying to rest up. I thought Bisping won the fight. At the end of the fight it was the activity of Bisping that gave him the edge.”
FOX UFC analyst Dominick Cruz on Bisping’s victory: “I’m impressed with the grit in both guys, with Hendo’s age and with Bisping getting his face blown up like that. To get put on your butt and recover like that was great. He knew he got rocked and he got back up on the horse. But you’ve got to say Henderson is a monster. What Bisping did was picking at the weapon. He was punching the right hand and taking off the power. But Henderson was waiting and setting it up. Once he got the timing, it landed a few times. For Bisping, the kicks let him work his way in to this jabs and let him avoid the big right hand. Also the faking and faking took away the power. Power fighters will fall to guys who feint.”
Cormier on what Henderson did right: “Dan Henderson never took his right hand off the chin. He was always protecting against the left punch from Mike defensively, and he was also ready to throw it.”
Cruz on how Henderson was fighting: “Dan plays a pull game. He backs up, backs up, and when you go to push, he throws the right hand and gets you. But there’s no quitting in Bisping, He’s so annoyingly stubborn, but he just keeps going and going.”
Cormier on the adjustments Bisping made: “Mike loves to box. He starts with the jab, and the combination goes on and on. It’s so unnatural for him to not do that. He made the adjustments and led with the jab and then backed out. He went jab, jab and back out. That’s how he kept himself out of trouble. He was shuffling the feet and then would throw the kick over the right hand. He made some adjustments in this fight. Bisping showed all his skill tonight, from recovering, to adjusting in the fight.”
Cormier on Henderson retiring: “How could you not honor him more after that fight? Talk about going out on your shield. He put himself in a position to win the title at 46 years old. He’s my idol now.”
Cruz on Henderson’s final fight: “Bisping went out there and showed he’s a champion, but Dan is going home a real winner.”
VIDEO: Highlights: Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
VIDEO: Interview: Dan Henderson on retirement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Henderson on how he felt about the fight: “I’m a little disappointed with the outcome. I felt like I did enough to win the fight. It should have been 10-8 in the first. I felt I won the first two rounds and I thought I won the fifth. It was one of the apprehensions I had coming to fight in his hometown. I knew I did that, so I’m happy with that.”
Henderson on what he would say to the fans: “Thank you for years and years of support.”
Cruz on Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi: “Mousasi was mixing it up really well today. He was throwing the jab and Vitor was backing up and countering. He wasn’t really being explosive. Mousasi would be in and out with the jab and he changes the rhythm and timing on it which makes it so hard to read.”
Cormier on what changed Belfort’s attitude against Mousasi: “For Vitor, it’s mental. He exploded on Mousasi and Mousasi wagged his finger at him. Then Mousasi almost took him down at the end of the first round. Then, the next round he got the takedown and took him out. You see the older guys trying to pace themselves and these younger guys weren’t letting them get comfortable. Mousasi just kept going at him. Gegard didn’t always go for finishes in his fights, but he went for the finish this time and that will make a difference as he’s climbing the ladder in the ratings.”
Mousasi on fighting Belfort: “He’s tough. I thought I’d be able to finish him. But I don’t take chances. The finish comes when it comes. He didn’t give up when I was on top of him. He took some punishment.”
Mousasi on what’s next for him: “I feel like I have the best standup in the middleweight division. I’m number five. I’m going to come for one of those guys, one to four, and when I beat them, I’m going to get my title fight. If I can’t fight one of them, I’d prefer to fight Anderson Silva, but I’ll wait to fight one of the top four.”
Cruz on what’s for Mousasi: “Yes, he should be facing one of the top four guys. Anderson is the best fight in the division. He has a huge name and Mousasi could get a piece of that. He’s giving himself some options.”
VIDEO: Highlights: Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
UFC president Dana White on who he thought won the Bisping vs. Henderson fight: “I had it even going into the last round and Bisping won the last round. Henderson is so durable and tough. I didn’t think it was going to be a competitive fight. It was a damn good fight.”
White on Henderson: “At his age, he’s an absolute warrior, one of the best. If he didn’t want to retire, he’s still scary to the guys in that division.”
White on who gets the next shot at Bisping: “Over the next couple of shows, we’ve got a little middleweight tournament and it’ll determine who will fight him next.”
White on Mousasi beating Belfort: “I’ve been a Mousasi fan for a long time. He was fired up after the fight and yelling at me. You don’t get much emotion out of him, so to get some is great. For Vitor, it wasn’t his night tonight. We’ll see what’s next.”
White on UFC 205: “I’m very excited. I think it’s the best card we’ve ever done and it’s almost impossible for that card to not live up to its potential.”
VIDEO: Highlights: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Jimi Manuwa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
VIDEO: Highlights: Stefan Struve vs. Daniel Omielańczuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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